The exact death toll was not immediately clear, but there were reports that 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai alone. Another 547 are missing and 798 people were injured, police said.

Kaoru Ishikawa, the Japanese ambassador to Canada, told CBC News that officials haven't determined how many people had died after the devastating quake and tsunami.

"We are trying indeed to check what's going on, but unfortunately the scope of the casualties we don't know yet," he said.

Local media are reporting that the death toll is expected to climb and could pass 1,000.

The offshore quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time at a depth of 24 kilometres about 125 kilometres off the coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.